[Patient behavior and length of the prehospital phase in myocardial infarction]

120 of 272 consecutive patients (44%) with confirmed myocardial infarction reached hospital within three hours of onset of symptoms. Important delays were caused by the patients "treating" themselves with drugs (delay of 6.8 +/- 14.9 h) and/or other measures (11.1 +/- 15.7 h), and in 50 of 144 (35%) patients, who consulted a doctor, time-consuming diagnostic tests and therapeutic measures (10.9 +/- 12.6 h). On the other hand, severity of pain shortened the prehospitalization phase significantly (P less than 0.025). Age, time of day, infarct site or whether first-time or recurrent infarct had no influence on the time elapsed until admission to the intensive care unit. Thus advice to patients and instruction to doctors may be the most effective means of shortening the prehospital phase in patients with myocardial infarction.